Visual communications and image processing are technologies that are employed in a wide range of applications. Such applications include the delivery and presentation of video images over various networks such as cable, space (e.g., via satellite) or computer networks, medical imaging, aerial/satellite photography, remote sensing, surveillance systems, forensic science, digital cameras, and high-quality scanning applications, among others.
During the delivery and/or processing of video images, a loss of image quality typically occurs between the original image and the captured image that will be used for display and/or recording. For example, in the process of recording an image, there is a natural loss of resolution caused by the non-zero physical dimensions of the individual sensor elements, the non-zero aperture time, optical blurring, noise, and motion. Further decline in resolution may occur in transporting the image using fewer bits in order to preserve bandwidth.
Techniques have been developed to address some of these problems. For example, multi-frame resolution enhancement (herein referred to as superresolution) techniques have been developed to estimate a high resolution image by combining the nonredundant information that is available in a sequence of low resolution images. However, current techniques are employed under assumptions that are not necessarily valid for many of the applications, and thus a heretofore unaddressed need exists in the industry for solutions to address one or more of these deficiencies and inadequacies.